Fastener attaching means



Aug. 30, 1938. P E FENTON 2,128,640

FASTENER ATTACHING MEANS Filed May 20, 1937 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 30, 1938 l ,UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FASTENER ATTACHING MEANS Paul E. Fenton, Thomaston, Conn., assignor to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application May 20, 1937, Serial No. 143,665

5 Claims. (Cl. 8537) This invention relates to improvements in contrate a separable fastener element I of the type ventional separable fastener installations of the with which the present invention is most partictype commonly used on gloves and similar articles ularly concerned, that is, one which may be sefor temporarily buttoning one part to another, cured to a supporting sheet by a pronged attachand in its more particular aspects to improvelng cap. This member, here illustrated asasock- I ments in the. means for securing the stud and et, may be constructed in any desired way. for socket members of the installation to their respecexample, in the manner set forth in Patent No. tive supporting sheets of material. 2,106,728, issued February 1, 1938. As such it The principal object of the present invention is comprises a central cylindrical wall I3 notched at to produce an inexpensive cap or eyelet part for several points along its front lip to form a plural- 10 use in attaching a fastener element or the like to ity 0f somewhat delicate resilient ngers I4 and a sheet of supporting material, and one which is inwardly rolled alongsuch lip to provide each of capable of cooperating with that element in such the fingers with a stud-engaging bead I5, a manner as to produce a better bond therebetween breast portion I6 flaring forwardly and outwardly without materially weakening the` intervening from the rear end of the Wall, and a retaining ring l5 sheet. Briefly the invention consists in the pro- I1 rolled rearwardly and inwardly from the Outer vision of an attaching cap having a radial flange margin of the breast and terminating with its for cooperation with a comparable part of the inwardly-directed edge I8, spaced from the ODDOS- fastener element incompressing the sheet thereing face of the breast to define an annular enbetween, and a plurality of arcuately spaced trance slot I9. The member, however, so far as 20 prongs extending perpendicularly from the flange the present invention is concerned, might just as with each such prong folded on its own axis for well be a stud post constructed in accordance with the purpose of reducing the width thereof, inthe teachings of Gti-pending application, Serial creasing its strength, and increasing the. arcuate No. 142,125, filed May 12, 1937. Reference may spacing between it and adjacent prongs. be had either t0 that application, or to the afore- 25 The full nature of the invention along with cited patent fora more complete understanding other objects and features thereof will be more Of the constructions there. shown, and the advanapparent from the following description when tages to be derived therefrom. read in connection with the accompanying draw- The construction of the attaching cap, or eyeso ing, in whicm.- iet, 2|, is illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6, and 80 Figure 1 is a sectional view of a fastener elethere it may be seen to comprise a radial flange 22 ment, and of an attaching cap constructed in achaving a plurality of arcuately shaped parallel cordance with the present invention, disposed on prongs 23 extending perpendicularly away thereopposite sides of an intervening sheet of material. from at spaced points along the base circle 24, the

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the parts of Figure 1 latter being of substantially the same diameter 35 secured to the supporting sheet. as the entrance slot of the fastener -member.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the at- Preferably it is made by stamping an appropriytaching cap of the present invention. ate sheet metal blank to form the flange and the Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 prongs, each of the latter being initially flat, in

.m of Fig. 5. cross-section and, in elevation, triangularly 40 Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5--5 shaped with a relatively wide base b; and then of Fig. 4.' turning the prongs outwardly at right angles to Fig.v6 is a sectinal view of the attaching cap in the flange, all as shown in Fig. 6. During this a partly completed state. stamping operation, or a subsequent one, each .,Fig. '7 is a view of a modified form of cap emprong is folded inwardly upon its own axis, or 45 bodying the features of the invention. .l otherwise arcuated cross-sectionally (Fig. 5), in

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale such fashion as materially to reduce the width of of a fragment of the snap fastener illustration its base portion. Thus, uponcompletion, it will of Fig. 2. have the shape of a split cone disposed on the Figs. 9 and 10 are plan views of two pieces of flange with its smooth rounded surface directed 50 fabric illustrating, respectively, the size of holes outwardly, and its channeled face, and rough incut therein by the prongs of the cap of the presner edges 26, turned inwardly. ent invention, and those formed by prongs of a The operation wherein the member IIJ is atprior art cap, tached to its supporting sheet is illustrated gen- Considering the drawing, Figs. 1 and 2 illuserally in Figs. 1 and 2. In that operation the co- 56 operating elements are rst disposed on opposite sides of the sheet 20, and the prongs of the cap are then driven through the sheet, and through the annular entrance slot i9, against the flaring breast I6 so as to turn them outwardly into the retaining ring I1, and compress the intervening material between the rear end of the member and the flange of the cap, all in a manner so usual as to require no further description.

With the plain cap of Figs. 1-6, inclusive, it will be noted that a part of the supporting sheet is pushed up through the opening in the flange defined by the base circle 24. If the material is leather, or an attractive fabric, then the exposed portion lends some decorative qualities to the installation; and this, in combination with a simple design embossed or engraved on the flange, is usually sufficient from an artistic point of view. Under certain circumstances, however, the exposed fabric may be considered unsightly. In that event it will usually be found desirable to attach a cap 21, having any desired ornamental characteristics, over the flange 22, as shown in Fig. 7.

Although the above described cap may be used to attach a fastener element to substantially any kind of supporting sheet, its features are such as to make 'it particularly useful when that sheet is a knitted or woven fabric. In such instance its relatively narrow prongs, as compared with the flat triangularly shaped ones of the prior art, may readily be passed between the threads of the material without cutting them. Then, too, these prongs are substantially as thick as they are wide, and hence will spread crossing threads to substantially the same degree, not as has heretofore been the case, one thread much more than another. Accordingly, the problem of uneven spreading is largely avoided, and with it, the problem of puckering or wrinkling of the material surrounding the installation.

The narrowing of the prongs in the manner set forth has the further effect of increasing the spacing therebetween, as may be seen by a comparison of Figs. and 6. Accordingly, where the new cap is secured to a sheet ila, of leather, rubber or the like, the spacing between the openings cut therein by the prongs (Fig. 9) will be somewhat greater than that between the openings made in the sheet Hb (Fig. l0) by theI fiat prongs of a prior art cap. l While the area of the openings will, in each instance, be the same, the amount of material intervening between them will be much greater in one case than it will in the other. Accordingly, the tendency for the prongs to pull through the fabric of Fig. 9 will be considerably less than that of Fig. 10. Differently stated, the material in the former case will be weakened to a considerably lesser extent than will that of the latter case.

Another advantage, and one which is of some considerable importance, flows from the fact that the arcuation of the prongs stiffens and strengthens them. As compared with the flat, unsupported ones heretofore used, they are not so subject to accidental bending during shipment or the like,a source of some loss in the past.

In the described construction it will be noted that each prong is folded inwardly with its relatively rough, sharp edges directed towards the center of the` flange. Consequently, during the attaching operation, these edges will engage the breast, and by reason of their roughness, tend to enter into a firmer engagement therewith, that is to say, they will get a better frictional grip on the breast and thus insure a more perfect union between the cooperating parts, as shown most particularly in Fig. 8.

Since certain changes may be made in the construction which are well within the skill of the ordinary mechanic, it is intended that the foregoing shall be considered in a. descriptive rather than a limiting sense.

What I claim is:

1. An attaching cap element of the character described, comprising a flange portion, and a plurality of prongs affixed to the flange at spaced points about a base circle on the flange and extending perpendicularly therefrom, each such prong being of generally arcuate cross section on a radius which is very much shorter than that of the base circle whereby to reduce its effective width and increase its rigidity.

2. An attaching cap element according to claim 1, further characterized in that each prong is of generally U-shape cross-section with its relatively rough edges, defining its channeled face, directed inwardly towards the center of the flange.

3. An attaching cap member of the character described, comprising a single piece of sheet metal having a radially-disposed flange portion, and a plurality of triangularly shaped prongs located at arcuately spaced points about a base circle in the flange and extending substantially at right angles therefrom, each prong being folded upon its own axis so that its channeled face is directed inwardly towards the center of the flange, and its width is reduced and its thickness increased to such an extent that these lastmentioned dimensions do not differ materially at a point adjacent its base. l

4. An attaching member of the character described,l comprising a single piece of sheet metal having a radially-disposed flange portion with a plurality of triangularly shaped prongs located at arcuately spaced points and turned outwardly at right angles to the flange so that all are substantially parallel and lie on a common circle, each such prong being folded along its own axis to such an extent that its relatively rough edges are directed inwardly towards the center of the flange, and its width adjacent its base is'materially decreased while its thickness at that point is materially increased.

5. A cap element for use in attaching a fastener member, having a marginal retaining ring, to a supporting sheet, particularly one of woven or knitted fabric, said element comprising a radially disposed flange adapted to engage one surface of such a sheet, and a plurality of pointed prongs joining the flange at arcuately spaced points about a base circle on the flange and extending substantially perpendicularly from such flange so as to pass through such a supporting sheet, each of said prongs being folded upon its own axis with its relatively rough edges directed towards the center of the flange and to such an extent that its thickness adjacent its base approaches its width at that point whereby when passed between crossing threads of the supporting sheet it will spread one thread substantially as much as another.

PAUL E. FENTON. 

